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Vaccination

Oral vaccine induces genitorectal immunity

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 12, page 619 (2012)Cite this article

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Previous attempts at oral delivery of vaccines to protect genitorectal mucosa have failed because of destruction of the vaccine in the upper gastrointestinal tract and probably also inadequate antigen uptake in the large intestine. To circumvent these problems, the researchers encapsulated their protein or peptide antigens, as well as Toll-like receptor ligands as vaccine adjuvants, in PLGA (poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid)) nanoparticles. The PLGA nanoparticles were then coated with either the anionic tripolymer Eudragit FS30D or Eudragit L100-55, which differentially protect the nanoparticles from the denaturing conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Having shown that these nanoparticle vaccines induced an antigen-specific T cell response when delivered directly to the colon of mice, the authors explored the efficacy of their oral administration. Uncoated and L100-55-coated PLGA nanoparticles were mostly delivered to the small intestine, whereas FS30D-coated PLGA nanoparticles were predominantly taken up by cells in the large intestine. Two oral immunizations, 2 weeks apart, of the FS30D-coated PLGA nanoparticles led to the induction of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in the colorectum. By contrast, uncoated and L100-55-coated PLGA nanoparticles primarily induced a T cell response in the small intestine. Therefore, these vaccines can induce immune responses in specific compartments of the gut mucosa.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Zhu, Q. et al. Large intestine-targeted, nanoparticle-releasing oral vaccine to control genitorectal viral infection. Nature Med. 15 Jul 2012 (doi:10.1038/nm.2866)

FURTHER READING

  1. Lycke, N. Recent progress in mucosal vaccine development: potential and limitations. Nature Rev. Immunol. 12, 592–605 (2012)

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Authors
  1. Ezzie Hutchinson
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Hutchinson, E. Oral vaccine induces genitorectal immunity. Nat Rev Immunol 12, 619 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3283

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